With all four of the golf majors now having been played in 2023, Rory McIlroy will be left to rue a number of missed opportunities.
Heading into this season, many onlookers felt that this would finally be the year we saw the Holywood native would finally end his long major drought. He had not won any of the four biggest prizes since 2014, a run that defies belief when you consider the talent at his disposal.
It's not as if he has always failed to perform in those tournaments either. McIlroy consistently finds himself near the top of the leaderboard, although he can never get over the hump and actually finish ahead of the rest of the field.
Unfortunately, that was the case once again in 2023.
A dire performance at The Masters (where he missed the cut) aside, his form in the other three majors was phenomenal. He secured a top ten finish in each of the US Open, PGA Championship, and The Open.
While he would not win any of the tournaments, his accumulative prize money from majors this season points to his consistency in the events.
Rory McIlroy won a lot of money in 2023 golf majors
Prize money in golf has increased significantly over the last couple of years, meaning that the top players can still take home huge pay cheques even if they do not win a given event.
Rory McIlroy was a prime example of that in this year's majors.
He would go home empty-handed from The Masters as a result of missing the cut, but he received quite a pay day in the other three events. Here's what he earned in each of them:
PGA Championship - $555,000 (T7th)
US Open - $2,160,000 (2nd)
The Open - $551,250 (T6th)
Total: $3,266,250
Well over $3million for three tournaments is quite the payday when you didn't win any of them, pointing towards the money floating around in golf at the moment. That is something that is only likely to increase as a result of the PGA Tour's partnership with the Saudi Public Investment Fund.
Of course, you get the sense that McIlroy would easily hand back all of that cash if it meant winning a fifth major title of his career. He will be hoping to secure that prize in 2024.
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